CoreQ Academy2.4 Given a scenario, use code to deploy and configure cloud resources.
Defining infrastructure and configuration as code makes environments repeatable, reviewable and auditable, which is also a security win.
As-code approaches
- Infrastructure as code (IaC)
- Declaring cloud resources in files (Terraform, CloudFormation, Bicep) that tools apply automatically.
- Configuration as code (CaC)
- Declaring OS and application configuration in code (Ansible, Chef, Puppet).
Scripting logic
- Variables
- Named values reused across code, such as region or instance size. Never hard-code secrets in them.
- Conditionals
- If/else logic, e.g. create a bigger instance only in production.
- Operators
- Comparison, arithmetic and logical operators used in expressions.
- Data types
- Strings, numbers, booleans, lists and maps.
- Functions
- Reusable blocks of logic, built-in or user-defined.
Practices
- Repeatability
- The same code produces the same environment every time.
- Drift detection
- Finding differences between declared code and what is actually deployed, often caused by manual changes.
- Versioning
- Keeping IaC in version control to review, audit and roll back changes.
- Testing
- Validating code (linting, policy-as-code checks, plan reviews) before applying.
- Documentation
- Describing modules, inputs and outputs so others can use them safely.
Formats
- JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)
- Structured key-value format; strict syntax, common in APIs and templates.
- Yet Another Markup Language (YAML)
- Indentation-based, human-friendly format used by Kubernetes, Ansible and CI pipelines. Indentation errors change meaning.
Check your understanding
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Original CoreQ Academy material, mapped to objective 2.4 of the publicly available CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-004 exam objectives (Exam objectives V4, document version 5.0). Not affiliated with or endorsed by CompTIA. Contains no exam questions.